Roanoke Times In Full Panic Mode

Shameful is the only word that describes this editorial that appears this morning:

"The force of two Romneys."

To quote:

A President Mitt Romney might strip FEMA's funding.

When it comes to protecting the public's safety, politics should find no shelter. This is when government's role is best fulfilled, directing public resources, contracting with private concerns and coordinating nonprofits' response efforts. Widespread disasters require coordination beyond state boundaries.

Yet if Romney had his way, McDonnell and Virginia would be on their own. When asked if states should stop relying on federal disaster aid, Romney said:

"Absolutely. Every time you have an occasion to take something from the federal government and send it back to the states, that's the right direction. And if you can go even further and send it back to the private sector, that's even better. Instead of thinking, in the federal budget, what we should cut — we should ask ourselves the opposite question. What should we keep? We should take all of what we're doing at the federal level and say, what are the things we're doing that we don't have to do? And those things we've got to stop doing, because we're borrowing $1.6 trillion more this year than we're taking in." [emphasis mine]

Deceitful or incompetent?

I go with both.

The quote attributed to Romney is verbatim.  The accompanying question - "if states should stop relying on federal disaster aid" - was not the question that provided for Romney's response.  It's a bald-faced lie.

The question - from debate moderator John King on June 30, 2011:

"FEMA is about to run out of money, and there are some people who say do it on a case-by-case basis and some people who say, you know, maybe we're learning a lesson here that the states should take on more of this role. How do you deal with something like that?”

See anything there that comes remotely close to should states stop relying on federal disaster aid?

We all know liberals are desperate these days.  What with their savior going down in flames.

Lies and deceit are the natural outpouring.

Shameful, fellas.  You drag the bottom on normal days.  But you've plowed new depths with this one.